Listen, Georgia really isn’t that bad. It’s not the worst country in the world. Sure, Saakashvili is awful, but overall Georgians compare fairly well with the rest of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. They’re Christians, after all. Georgia has big problems. Very big ones. A third of the country’s territory has been outside the control of the central government for many years. Would we like it if the Urals and Western Siberia, while formally part of the Russian Federation, were in practice living on their own? Exactly. And Georgians feel that bitterness and resentment too. And in this respect Russia is behaving badly and inconsistently. On the one hand, it recognizes Georgia’s territorial integrity (always and everywhere, in every statement by officials); on the other, it supports and finances the dubious regimes of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It handed out our passports to everyone there. So where have we sent troops now? Into Georgia! And where are we conducting military operations? On Georgian territory! Yes, our citizens are dying there. But what the hell are so many of our citizens doing on Georgian territory in the first place? We all understand this, but we keep saying all sorts of things to deceive ourselves. And naturally, Georgians understand it too. For years now, this entire situation has been the main—and only—issue on Georgia’s domestic political agenda. In every election, voters ask candidates just one question: how are you going to restore the country’s territorial integrity? And for years the candidates have answered: We will unite the entire Georgian nation! We will revive Georgia! We will restore our borders! The logical outcome of this political process was the rise to power of a Europeanized Georgian Hitler—Saakashvili. He really did unite the nation. He even brought part of the country back—Adjara—by driving out Abashidze’s corrupt government (which, incidentally, was taken in by Luzhkov, the longtime Moscow mayor, who also set him up with new business ventures). Could this Georgian Hitler have stopped there? Of course not. He can boost the economy all he likes, disband the traffic police, and drive the thieves-in-law (organized crime bosses) out of the country—though of course they get pushed into Russia. But people expect only one thing from him: the return of the lost lands. If he doesn’t make attempts in that direction, Georgians don’t need him, and Georgian politicians won’t care about him. So he made an attempt. And he’ll do it again. And again, and again. And if he resigns, or gets poisoned, or gets killed, any successor of his will still be occupied with one thing only: getting those territories back. Georgia will spend many more years in a semi-war footing, growing poorer, increasing its military budget, trying to sic the Americans and Europeans on us. In other words, doing all this nonsense instead of simply living and prospering. I repeat: there is no other scenario, and there cannot be one. The Georgian people will never be able to reconcile themselves to the fact that part of their country is occupied. So let’s give Georgia a chance. Russia should give Georgia a chance. A chance to return to normal life and get out of this endless semi-military nightmare. This pointless whipping up of themselves and everyone around them. Russia must stop all military operations on Georgian territory! Not a single Russian soldier should be on Georgian soil! And for that to happen, the ruling elite of the Russian Federation must finally make a responsible decision that is long overdue. Russia must immediately recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. We must recognize their independence for Georgia’s sake. The whole world—the United States, Europe, Russia, and Georgia—should have understood long ago that the secession of these countries is not some plot by the Russian Federation, but the completion (or continuation) of the breakup of the USSR. Yes, it will hurt Georgians very much. But as the song goes: it hurts now, but later it feels good. After some time, they will accept the inevitable. They will understand that the past cannot be brought back, and they will get on with their normal lives. They’ll start growing grapes, singing their songs, herding donkeys and whatever else they herd in the mountains. They’ll develop tourism. They’ll restore the dolphinarium in Batumi. They’ll reinforce the oil pipeline. They’ll end their energy dependence on Russia. They’ll raise living standards and, perhaps, Georgians will stop wandering around Russia by the hundreds of thousands and stay home instead. They’ll do many good things. With the understanding that there is not a single Russian soldier on Georgian territory. Of course, the territorial question will always remain on the Georgian political agenda. But gradually it will stop being the most important and the only issue. Politicians will appear who say: yes, yes, of course, treacherous Russia—but let’s finally think about the many other problems we have. Those will be normal politicians, not raving hysterics who happen to know English. The Serbs lost their country. We supported the Serbs with all our hearts, but they made that choice themselves. You can write a great deal about pressure, bombings, and so on, and all of it would be true. But their present capitulation is a conscious act by the majority of the population. They said to themselves: to hell with it! We want to be like Montenegro, like the Czech Republic, like Croatia. We want the eurozone. We want visas. We just want to live. Well, if that’s what they want, let them live. We cannot be more Serbian than the Serbs themselves. And the same will happen with the Georgians. You cannot build a small empire. In the modern world, that doesn’t work. If a small nation likes playing big-power politics, it must either become a satellite of a great nation or become its enemy. But there is another option: not to play, and simply to live. No one but Russia can help Georgia. Only we can give them a chance at a normal life. Either we keep teasing and tormenting them: "Yes, yes, this is Georgian territory, we recognize that! But look at our cute little green tanks on your territory! Look at our beautiful airplanes! Look how quickly your patrol boats sink in your own waters. Oh, you’re snapping back?! Here’s a flick on the nose! Flick! Flick! Oh, you’re complaining?! We’ll shove your face in the toilet too! And we’ll work something out with America. We’ve got our own business: Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan." Or we calmly say: "Guys, our common country fell apart. It’s nobody’s fault that Abkhazia and South Ossetia ended up as some of the fragments. We recognize that now. And you will have to recognize it too. Understand it. And go on living with it." Recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia really would be a decisive and positive step by a great power. It would be far more decisive than military action. No doubt it is very entertaining for us to watch Saakashvili cower in fear in Gori behind his security detail. It is gratifying to know that Russian weapons are being used to protect civilians. Our military are doing a fine job (though personally I would prefer the ground operation to be scaled back as much as possible in favor of airstrikes). But it is obvious that this has no future. Yes, right now the Georgians will get smashed. So what? They’ll come at us again, and we’ll smash them again. And so on forever. Only recognition of independence points a way out of the crisis. And it would give our troops a legitimate right to be in those zones. Besides saving Georgia, recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia would also give Russia new opportunities. First of all, it would let us sort out the system of power in those republics. And their financing. They’ve set up semi-bandit states there. Naturally, they pay no taxes to the Russian Federation. They receive pensions. They receive aid. They report to no one on how that aid is spent. Enormous sums disappear through classified budget lines, "through intelligence channels," "through military channels," and so on. Something has to be done about all this. If some region like Ryazan or Vologda got that much money, it would be swimming in luxury. And to be frank, both Ryazan and Vologda regions are much dearer to me than either Ossetia or Abkhazia. Of course they should be helped. But we need to understand on what terms. So there it is. Let’s be noble. Let’s conduct a responsible foreign policy. Let’s acknowledge the obvious—the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Let’s love Georgia and give it a chance! P.S. And really, it would be good to recognize Transnistria too. The Moldovans deserve a chance as well.